Another September 30 Quest Review

[newcruisermom]

We recently returned from a wonderful 8 night cruise on the Quest--Barcelona to Barcelona. Since I have found these boards very useful in planning my past vacations, I wanted to provide a little feedback on our trip.

 

About us: We are 54 and 60, and from the U.S. This was our 4th Azamara Quest voyage--our 6th cruise overall.

We are destination-driven and don't spend much time by the pool, in the casino, etc. We sail Azamara to explore ports most days and then come back for a relaxing dinner with great service, outdoor dining (weather permitting, of course), and open seating.

 

About our stateroom: 6017. We got a good deal on a veranda GTY. The housekeeping staff (Richard and Joe) were excellent and the room was spotless. They even decorated our room on my birthday! We did hear some noise from The Cabaret show on the first night, but we were in the room at 9:00, which is pretty early to be going to bed anyway. (We had flown in that morning and were a little jet-lagged. The other nights when we went to the room at 10:00-10:30, we did not have noise.) Also, my husband got seasick on Day 3 (our sea day). He had never been seasick before. I don't know how much the stateroom location affected him. Lots of people were seasick that day.

 

Ports:

-Barcelona (day 1): We flew in that morning, took the Aerobus from the airport to Placa de Catalunya, took a 3.5 hour local bus tour of Gaudi architecture, walked (with our luggage) to the Quest, had speedy check-in, and we were at the lunch buffet in Discoveries Restaurant by 2:00. We were informed at check-in that we would be staying in Barcelona for an extra night due to weather conditions.

-Barcelona (day 2): We took the ship's morning tour to Montserrat. We had lunch on the ship and still had time to walk back through La Ramba, due to the convenient docking location of the ship. Cruise Critic Get-Together was at 6:00 that evening.

-Sea Day: My husband was seasick, so I enjoyed John Rossi's enrichment lecture on Florence, then I found a lounger on deck 5 and read my book. (I did need a blanket!) We did not attend Le Club Voyage cocktail party.

-Civitavecchia: We took the train to Rome on our own.

-Livorno: We took a private tour with 3 other couples. We had pre-arranged this through Cruise Critic. (Thanks, Lois!)

-Calvi, Corsica: A spectacular port. Beautiful...we just walked around and explored on our own. White Night Party.

-Monte Carlo, Monaco: We were able to walk around on our own. We visited the aquarium and the church, but we did not go to the casino.

-Palamos, Spain: We took the ship's tour to the Dali Museum.

-Barcelona: disembarkation

 

Highlights:

-Customer service. That's what keeps us coming back.

-White Night Party--Great food, dancing, tablemates, and weather.

-Docking locations. We had very convenient locations in Barcelona, Calvi, and Monte Carlo.

-Windows Cafe. We ate dinner outside on the deck most nights. There was a good variety of food, which changed for each theme night. The Spanish dinner buffet was our favorite. However, the big treat for us is sitting outside with a glass of wine, watching the ship sail away.

-Amanda Poulson performance. Beautiful voice!

-Mosaic Cafe for a morning latte to go, as well as for an evening decaf coffee at one of the tables. It was a nice place to sit after dinner. It was obviously a popular place, since most tables were usually occupied.

-I appreciated that Azamara provided detailed information on how to take the train to Rome and back. Since we had visited Rome on a previous cruise and seen the biggest sights, we opted to take the train on our own this time. We saw several other passengers taking the train, as well. (A tourist information desk was available on deck 4 on most mornings. It was a good place to pick up a local map and ask for directions.)

-Cruise Critic Social. It was well attended by guests and officers. Azamara definitely puts in the effort to make it a nice get-together.

-Hotel Director Philip Herbert. He was very visible during the cruise, and he seemed genuinely concerned with making sure guests were comfortable and happy.

-Other passengers. We had nice conversations with fellow travelers.

 

Negatives? None, really. The weather conditions caused us to spend a second day in Barcelona instead of going to Ibiza. On our sea day, it was really rocky and many people were seasick. On our next-to-last day, it was a little rough again. However, weather cannot be helped and Captain Carl Smith kept us safe and informed. He has been the captain on each of our Azamara cruises, and we look specifically for cruises where he and Russ (the cruise director) will be sailing.

I sometimes wish there was a little more nightlife, but I realize that is the trade-off of being on a smaller ship. We do enjoy the overall ambience.

 

We look forward to sailing with Azamara again, when it's just my husband and me. (If we travel with our grown children, they will want more to do after dinner.)

For us, it's the perfect combination of travel and relaxation.

Edited October 19, 2015 by newcruisermom

[newcruisermom]

Correction: we tendered in Monaco. (I am trying to edit the original post.)

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[Lottie A]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. So glad you enjoyed your cruise on Quest.

 

I couldn't agree more about Captain Carl and Philip Herbert. They are a huge asset to Azamara, along with the other senior officers of course. It's hard to explain to non Azamara cruisers just what a difference they do make.

 

We can't wait for our Journey cruise in under two weeks. :)

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks for doing a review and glad you enjoyed Quest. My experience is that location makes a big difference if it's rough and being forward you feel the motion a lot more. I was on deck 7 far forward and one night was really rocked around. Fortunately I don't suffer too badly from mal de mer and it was kind of fun, but if you are feeling queasy you just want to die!

 

 

We can't wait for our Journey cruise in under two weeks. :)

Lottie, you and Hazel have a great time!

 

Phil

[Lottie A]

Lottie, you and Hazel have a great time!

 

Phil

 

Thanks Phil....we will! :D

[Spursgirl]

Newcruisermom, glad you had a great cruise on Quest.

 

Friends of mine board in Athens today and it's good to know that things are as good as they've always been.

 

Phil,

 

Thanks for your good wishes. Even with the gammy knee Lottie A and I plan to have the best time.:D And the same to you of course when you leave for your cruise at the weekend